What is RAID ??

I am using the X48T DQ6 mainboard and was wondering how to set up the
following and is the following set up classed as RAID.
Apart from my internal HDD i want to use one of the rear optional connectors
to fit an external SATA HDD which has another opperating system on it.
Can any of you experts out there give me any good advice on how to do this
correctly, basically i want to use this as a device for music and video
storage etc...

Advertisements

Advertisements

no thats not raid
If you want to use it as storage only, plug it in, then in Disk Management
delete the partions, then format it. You will lose all on that drive.

"timelord" <> wrote in message
news:yQwuk.194145$2...
>I am using the X48T DQ6 mainboard and was wondering how to set up the
>following and is the following set up classed as RAID.
> Apart from my internal HDD i want to use one of the rear optional
> connectors to fit an external SATA HDD which has another opperating system
> on it.
> Can any of you experts out there give me any good advice on how to do this
> correctly, basically i want to use this as a device for music and video
> storage etc...
>
> Thanks all.

timelord wrote:
> I am using the X48T DQ6 mainboard and was wondering how to set up the
> following and is the following set up classed as RAID.
> Apart from my internal HDD i want to use one of the rear optional
> connectors to fit an external SATA HDD which has another opperating
> system on it.
> Can any of you experts out there give me any good advice on how to do
> this correctly, basically i want to use this as a device for music and
> video storage etc...
>
> Thanks all.

Your motherboard has eight SATA ports, six on the Southbridge and
two on the Jmicron controller. You install the ESATA bracket, connect
the SATA cable to one of the motherboard SATA ports, and connect
the four pin drive power plug to one of the Molex 1x4 power
connectors on your power supply.

If you connect the bracket to one of the six Intel ports, then
any necessary drivers would be for the Intel chipset. If
you are using the Jmicron, then the driver needed would be for
it.

For the Intel case, you'd probably want the AHCI driver, but the
thing is, you already have a hard drive connected to the board.
So you're already made a choice in the BIOS, as to what mode
you want to use, when the boot drive was set up. You probably
don't have independent control of all six ports on the Intel
interface.

If AHCI or RAID modes are used in the BIOS, and an AHCI or
RAID driver is installed, they probably support hot plug.
If the Intel ports are in IDE mode, then hot plug may not
be supported for the E-SATA bracket. What that means is,
the system may not detect the drive if you plug the
external data cable to the bracket, while the system is
running. It might work, if the drive was plugged and
running, before the computer POSTs.

The two Jmicron ports, in the lower right hand corner of
the motherboard, would have similar issues. But the thing
is, if you weren't booting from those ports, then you
have an opportunity to set up those ports in a way that
helps the bracket work for you. (The Jmicron are labeled
in the user manual as "GSATAIIA" and "GSATAIIB".)

The Jmicron settings are

"Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode (GIGABYTE SATA2 Chip)

Enables or disables RAID for the SATA controller integrated in
the GIGABYTE SATA 2 chip or configures the SATA controller to AHCI mode.

AHCI - Configures the SATA controller to AHCI mode. Advanced Host
Controller Interface (AHCI) is an interface specification that
allows the storage driver to enable advanced Serial ATA
features such as Native Command Queuing and hot plug.
RAID/IDE - Enables RAID for the SATA controller. (The IDE controller
still operates in PATA mode)"

The AHCI option would allow you to hot plug the external drive,
and a few seconds later, Windows should recognize the newly
plugged drive. There should also be a "Safely Remove" icon for
the new drive, and by using it, that flushes the cache to the drive.
Once flushed, then you can safely unplug the new drive, without
the last written files being corrupted.

Someone else had an issue with the Jmicron chip (the one they call
"gigabyte chip" on your board). As near as I can tell, they're
using the Jmicron RAID driver, as that is the only thing I see
available for download on the Jmicron site.

To have all your drives running off the same controller chip, would
require a careful choice of modes, before doing the Windows install
or Windows Repair Install. At least the Intel Southbridge, does not
like to have the driver changed, once the OS is installed.

BTW - RAID mode allows multiple disks to be used, to either increase
the storage bandwidth or increase the reliability of the storage
subsystem. In your current situation, you're only connecting a single
drive, and have no plan to use an array of drives. So that is not
RAID in the usual sense of the word.

Share This Page

Welcome to Motherboard Point

Welcome to Motherboard Point a friendly motherboard forum full of tech experts..

Please join our friendly community by clicking the button below - it only takes a few seconds and is totally free. You'll be able to ask questions about your motherboard or chat with the community and help others.
Sign up now!